Tough EI Housing Choices? Use this Decision Flowchart

Making housing decisions with Environmental Illness (EI)

Some housing decisions are really difficult when environmental sensitivities are involved.

Those who don’t have environmental sensitivities may not always be able to fully help with a decision as they not be able to fully understand the consequences of various outcomes or relate to various circumstances.

Though it does usually help to talk it over with people, this article is about your internal process.

This article goes through a decision making process in a flow chart style. This part of the article is going out to everyone.

At the end of the flow chart there is an EFT guided track for guiding you into the decision making process and coming back to center that paid subscribers can see.

Difficult Housing Decision Flowchart

Often when someone is facing a really hard decision (like when they are really stuck) and they ask me for advice, I often find that they don’t have enough information to make a surefire decision.

Question 1:

So the first thing to ask yourself if you are torn on renting or buying a home (or other housing decision) is - do I have enough information to make a good decision?

If yes - this means you have weighed the pros and cons and the best decision is clear.

If it’s still hard to make the decision look at if you are trying to please someone else, scared of disappointing someone, or if you are willing to make the best decision for you.

Increase your ability to disappoint people (especially strangers who are only inconvenienced by your decision) and increase you ability ask for what you need cleanly (without falling into being afraid to voice your needs, nor demanding your needs be met with entitlement).

My recent decision on whether to buy this apartment below was not an easy one, but I was still scared to disappoint my realtor. And I am still feeling the reverb and some shame around my needs and disappointing others.

If no - then:

Which points do I not have enough information on?

For example - do I have enough information on if the home is moldy, or if the level of mold will be OK for me?

Do I have enough information on the level of VOCs, on how to mitigate VOCs, and if the existing or after mitigation level will be OK for me?

Do I have enough information on the fragrance level to make a decision, on how to remediate this fragrance level, and if the existing or post remediation levels will be OK for me?

Do I have enough information on the outdoor air quality?

Do I have enough information on if I can use brain retraining to make it into this home?

Do I have enough information on the financial decisions involved?

Get answers for some of these questions if possible.

Go through each one, in writing, and write down which ones can you get more information on.

For example - can I get better mold tests, intuitive mold tests that I talk about here in Substack, a better inspector, a virtual inspection of defects by Cheryl Ciecko, information on how to mitigate VOCs and fragrance and how much you can expect those to come down, more experience in hotels/bnbs/other people’s homes to see how I do with that level of VOCs/fragrance, can I ask other people for their experience or advice on this, etc.

Also ask:

What is the worst case scenario from taking x action and what can I do to mitigate or handle that situation?

Write these out.

What is the worst case scenario from taking the opposite action (or doing nothing) and what can I do to mitigate or handle that situation?

(Don’t forget to weigh the consequences of doing nothing, this is harder for the environmental illness/limbically affected mind to do, so write it out).

Am I willing to live with the worst case scenario or with the outcome of the opposite scenario (which in some cases is doing nothing)?

Is this a decision where I will truly be OK with either road? In which case go with your intuition.

What would I do if I wasn’t afraid??

This is something a lot of “gurus” teach and it definitely is an interesting perspective to look at when in a meditative state, but I do not ultimately base my decisions on this because if you truly were not afraid then you would just live in the moldy house, take the risk, not be afraid of drying and so on.

And that is not actually the realistic way to make a decision in real life with environmental sensitivities in my personal experience.

Though it is a good idea to try this and see if you can parse out the PTSD related to the decision, versus today’s reality and what is actually best for you now.

If it’s not a “f yes” it’s an “f no”?

Another guru type advice that falls into the same category is “if it’s not a f-yes, it’s an f-no”, I think is addressed really well here by Deva.

What is my risk tolerance?

Ultimately when I made this difficult decision on whether I was going to buy this apartment recently I went with both my intuition and a logical decision (even though I didn’t have the full data I needed) to make a more cautious, more prudent, fairly risk adverse decision where the risk of buying the apartment was greater in my estimation than the risk of not buying it (even though there are risks to not buying right now).

I did not have full data on the risks of both choices, but based on my best guesses and on a cautious approach this seemed like a lesser risk.

I am not saying you should also take the risk adverse road, I have taken huge risks to get free of mold and to get better to where I am now.

Most people when they first get sick are too risk adverse and stay in situations, jobs, relationships or moldy homes that are making them worse.

Can’t get more information…

If you cannot get more information on any of the points that you need to make a decision then you truly don’t have enough information to make an informed logical decision, so you have to rely on your intuition (or if you believe in being guided by a higher power then this is the same process).

Accept or at least admit - that this is a decision that has no clear answer, I cannot predict which will have the best outcome and/or I simply don’t have all the information I need to make the best decision logically, and therefore I have no choice but to surrender to the fact that I don’t have full control over the outcome.

Intuition Guidance:

I first spend some time lying down or sitting and not doing anything. You could also have a long shower or bath.

Don’t use any distractions like music or the internet for at least an hour just sit/lie there and let the thoughts come in and out naturally.

Letting the thoughts flow naturally will help some ideas to come up that might help.

Then once you have given the thoughts their time to surface come into a meditative state.

For those who are not doing brain retraining this will be harder to do.

The more practice you have coming back to a place of calm and deep meditative states the easier it gets over time.

I talk about all the meditations I practice in this article (which range from totally secular, to Christian, Buddhist and Hindu options).

When you are in, or when you are coming out of the meditative state, picture each option in your head and see how you feel about it or see what your gut reaction is.

Forgive yourself

I knew I was going to feel regret with either decision that I made on the apartment.

This is an old pattern of beating myself up.

So I did some work on that forgiving myself for doing my best and coming back to a sense of levity.

EFT Track

Here is a EFT track that I recorded to help go move through the emotions of making a hard decision and come back to center.

I do mention God in this EFT track.

Here are the tapping points to review before listening.